Genres have porous borders, where influences of other genres can sneak into play and create liminal works. They can reflect the content, tone, or aesthetics from different types of story, or abandon some archetypal elements in favour of others. It is a phenomenon I have already seen in the westerns of 1955, particularly in John Sturges’ masterful Bad Day at Black Rock, that takes familiar tropes and characters are transplants them into a then-contemporary drama. I can see it in William Castle’s Duel on the Mississippi, which is largely considered one of 1955’s westerns yet does not resemble the genre too much at all.

In 1820s Louisiana, the son (Lex Barker) of a struggling sugarcane farmer saves his father from a term in debtor’s prison by agreeing to work as an indentured servant to the rebellious – and potentially criminal – madame of a Mississippi gambling boat (Patricia Medina).

There is a story about good farmers fighting cowardly outlaws. There are men riding horses, and shooting pistols – although given the period they’re single shot muskets rather than revolvers. At the same time there is no lone rider coming into a corrupt town, and no taming of the frontier. There is not any classic American exceptionalism, rather the voluntary sacrifice of freedom for one’s family. If anything, the film is a swashbuckler: there are matters of honour, solemn duels, and the clash of sword against sword.

The film comes from director William Castle, who had previously directed 1955’s The Americano. That film was a tightly made example of how to make an effective western on a limited budget and schedule. By comparison, Duel on the Mississippi feels rather bloated. The story is muddled between drama, action, and romance, as well as between a snappy comedy about fighting lovers and an adventure pitting farmers against sugar thieves in the bayou. No individual element appears to win out.

Lex Barker and Patricia Medina are both charismatic performers, but the screeners fails to give their roles much depth. The supporting cast has a smattering of engaging players including Warren Stevens, Craig Stevens (later to star in Peter Gunn), John Dehner, and Chris Alcaide. Despite their best efforts, the results of consistently underwhelming.

There is also a slightly odious undercurrent in the way the film bases a key plot elements around indentured service of a white man, yet largely ignores the horrifying reality of slave labour in Louisiana’s sugar industry. There are African-American performers among the background extras, but they are never so much as referenced. The usual caveat for older features applies: it was made in a different time, for an audience that was often more overtly racist than they are now. We should keep that in mind. As viewers, however, we are watching the first in the 21st century: we are allowed to find it distasteful.

William Castle eventually left the studio B-picture trade to make a string of gimmicky horror movies. It seemed a more comfortable niche for him.

1955 West is a review project to watch as many western features from 1955 as possible, in order to gain a ‘snapshot’ view of the genre at its height. According to Letterboxd, there were 72 westerns released that year. You can see all of FictionMachine’s reviews of them to date by clicking here.